


It's Time

by Canis_Minor



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Age Difference, Angst and Feels, Civil War Team Iron Man, Eventual Smut, Hurt Tony Stark, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Nightmares, Not Canon Compliant, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Protective Peter Parker, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, rating for last chapter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-23
Updated: 2018-06-02
Packaged: 2019-05-13 01:43:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14739705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Canis_Minor/pseuds/Canis_Minor
Summary: Still trying to process everything that happened between him and Steve Rogers, Tony eventually realises that he's not forced to do this alone. He just has to allow it... And it has the potential to become so much more.





	1. Chapter 1

 

_The crunching sound of breaking metal rings loud and persistent in his ears. His chest feels as if Captain America‘s shield is rammed into it again, shattering the front of his suit, letting the sharp splinters pierce through his skin underneath. He’s lying on the cold ground, unable to move, Steve hovering above him, his eyes showing a strange mixture of pity and dawning realisation about what’s just happened. About which things were revealed and to which they‘ve led..._

_His whole body aching with pain, he tries to lift his arm but even this simple movement is impossible for him. Too severe the damage to his suit. Too severe the damage to his bones and joints. Somehow managing to tilt his head a little bit, he sees the shapes of Steve and Bucky disappearing in the distance, leaving him alone. Alone to die... Desperately starting another futile attempt at shifting his position, he feels a sharp pain shooting right through him, suddenly letting everything turn black and numb..._

 

 

His trembling body covered in cold sweat and his T-shirt clinging to his skin, Tony awoke with a start, sitting upright in split seconds. Looking around in confusion, he detected his surroundings before he eventually realised that he wasn‘t in Siberia. That he wasn‘t lying in this abandoned building again, severely hurt and seemingly lost until he’d eventually succeeded in using some of the still functioning parts of his suit to call for help.

 

Instead he stared out of the windows of his bedroom, seeing the uncountable little lights of the skyscrapers of the nightly New York City. Running a hand through his hair and feeling the damp strands sliding through his fingers, Tony slumped back into the pillows, releasing a deep breath he didn’t know he’d been holding.

 

It was no surprise for him to wake up in the middle of the night like this. No. Not after at least twenty times that he‘d already awoken alone in his bed, shaken to the core, every fibre of his body seemingly back in Siberia. Every thought circling around Steve and Bucky and how everything had turned out after he‘d got to know that Captain America‘s best friend had brutally killed his parents.

 

In the moment, in which Tony had found out about that, about the fact that Steve had deliberately withhold this information from him, he‘d lost every piece of his composure. Of course he’d known that Barnes had acted under the influence of Hydra but he‘d just forgiven Rogers, had just realised that he had been wrong and then a revelation like this had literally pulled the rug out from under his feet and he’d wanted to see Bucky die like his parents. Every coherent thought blanked out by the indescribable anger he’d felt, he hadn’t considered that Bucky and Steve could be stronger than him and his suit. Stronger than Iron Man. But he had been wrong. So wrong… And although several weeks had passed since these faithful events, Tony just couldn’t forget about all of this...

 

"Friday?" he eventually asked into the darkness of his bedroom, loosening his gaze from the skyline in front of the windows. His voice was rough and sounded as if it didn’t belong to him. Had he screamed again? Wouldn’t have been a surprise either... He would rather prefer not to sleep at all as it would make everything so much easier. It would stop all these memories from bubbling up to the surface again. If he was awake he could manage to suppress them, like he could manage to suppress so much...

 

"Yes, Mr Stark?" the electronic voice immediately answered and ended Tony‘s train of thoughts.

 

"How late is it?"

 

"It‘s exactly 2:47 am, Sir."

 

"Fucking great," Tony mumbled and closed his eyes again. This night he‘d made it to two and a half hours of sleep before he‘d woken up again. Although his body was used to limited amounts of resting, even he couldn’t endure this for an infinite amount of time...

"Could you please tell me, what‘s on my schedule for today?"

 

"You have at meeting with Ms Potts in conference room 2 at 8 o‘clock. She wants to discuss how to proceed with the rumours about the end of your relationship. Besides that Mr Parker will arrive at your laboratory at three o’clock to work with you on the further improved web-shooters you developed."

 

"Thanks Friday. Correction, _everything_ sounds absolutely fucking great..." Tony groaned and pulled the blanket over his head, knowing that after a few more restless hours he eventually had to face another day...

 

 

* * *

 

 

"Hello Mr Stark," Peter exclaimed happily while carelessly tossing his backpack onto the floor. The door to the lab slammed shut behind him, the sound ringing unbearably loud in Tony’s sleep-addled head and he almost dropped the pliers he‘d used to bend a pair of wires. After the catastrophic meeting with Pepper he‘d tried to distract himself with work but how successful could this be after another night filled with nightmares and memories and after you‘ve had a discussion with your ex for nearly two hours?

 

"Hey Kid," Tony belatedly answered and tried to smile at the boy who had already almost made his way across the room to join him in front of the workbench. But one look at Peter‘s concerned features showed him that he wasn’t as successful at hiding how he felt, as he‘d wish for.

 

"Are you alright, Mr Stark?" Peter asked and further furrowed his brow.

 

"Of course, Peter, I’m fine. Why shouldn‘t I?" the older man replied with a shrug of his shoulders, hoping that he could end this conversation sooner than later. What could he tell Peter? Did he want him to explain what he could clearly see on his tired-looking face?

 

"Okay, can we please be honest? Normally you seem to me like a man who says what he thinks. No, that sounds wrong. I... I don’t mean that as an offense, Mr Stark, it’s a good thing. What I want to say is that... I just mean that... God, you don’t look like you’re fine. You look tired and sad. Actually you’ve looked like this every time I saw you during the last few weeks. But today it seems even more extreme. It’s because of what happened in Siberia, isn’t it? Please, tell me, I can‘t b..." Peter abruptly ended his monologue as if he’d realised in the last second that what he was about to tell, should better remain unsaid.

 

"Peter... Look, I appreciate that you’re concerned about me. I really do... But what shall I say... I don’t deny that you’re partly right, yes, but I assure you that eventually everything will turn back to normal so don’t give it to much thought, would you?" Tony replied and placed his hand on Peter’s arm. It was true, he really felt touched that Peter cared about him - more than he would admit - but he simply couldn’t tell him about all the things he had on his mind. He didn’t want to bother the boy, as it was his decision to initially drag him into all of this. To put him into danger when they had to fight against Steve and his so-called allies in Germany. Peter had been an indispensable part of his team back then and Tony really wanted to help him increase his abilities but he also knew that talking and showing his feelings to him would inevitably lead to the things he always tried to ban to the deepest corner of his mind and that he couldn’t allow himself to dwell on...

"Is that okay?" Tony asked as he still hadn’t got an answer.

 

"Yes, Mr Stark," Peter eventually replied but Tony could hear in the sound of his voice that this agreement – if it could even been described as such – was only temporary and he didn’t know if he should be afraid or grateful…


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An insight into Peter's thoughts and feels...

"Goodnight May. I’m going to bed," Peter announced when he made his way through the flat to get to his room.

 

"Goodnight Peter, don‘t stay up for too long," his aunt replied from the sofa and smiled at her nephew, not knowing that what could possibly keep him awake weren’t his smartphone or his computer but what he had on his mind.

 

"No I won’t, May" the brown-haired boy replied into her direction and closed the door to his room behind him. Leaning against the wooden surface, Peter rubbed his eyes and took a deep breath. Finally he had time for himself. Time to think... He’d spent the remaining afternoon with Mr Stark in his lab and he couldn’t remember the last time that the atmosphere between them had been so tensed and uncomfortable... But what could have been expected after he’d tried to openly talk to the older man? After he’d told him that the traces of sleepless nights and unprocessed memories were clearly visible on his face…

 

Eventually loosening himself from the door and the distinctive sound of the playing television, Peter made his way across the room to slump into his bed. He‘d just wanted to help Mr Stark, to show him that he had somebody he could talk to and that he didn’t have to endure all of this alone. But of course Tony had turned down his help and had tried to change the topic as fast as possible, probably thinking that someone like Peter - a Kid as he’d already been called by him for uncountable times - wasn’t the one he wanted in this moment. But Peter could perfectly well imagine how Mr Stark felt, as seeing him like this almost made him feel the same... _I can’t bear seeing you like this..._ He’d almost said it…

 

When Tony had sat in his and May‘s living room when he‘d come back from school that day many months ago, it all had seemed so surreal and unbelievable. The man he secretly admired and that had once even saved his life when he’d been nothing more than an guileless child, had been sitting on their sofa next to his aunt, eating her walnut date loaf, before he’d accompanied him to his room to talk to him. To recruit him and ask for his help as he’d seen the videos that showed what he’d done after he‘d found out to which he things he was able.

 

But how embarrassing had it felt when Tony had found his self-made "suit" that had been nothing more than a hoodie and web-shooters that he had to fasten around his wrists every time? How embarrassing had it felt when he’d asked him what he used to call himself… _Crime-Fighting-Spider? Spider-Boy?..._ But still Tony had come to him. _Him!_ Clearly showing that he believed in him and his abilities, clapping on his shoulder and telling him that he wanted his help in Germany to fight against Captain America.

 

_Captain America..._ The mere thought about this man let Peter‘s already hypersensitive senses operate at full stretch. Rogers and his “recovered” best friend James Barnes were the source of the entire evil Tony still couldn’t deal with. He could have died that day in Siberia - it hadn’t even been unlikely after Rogers and Barnes had left him there, willingly accepting that he wouldn’t be able to call for help on his own - and Peter still didn’t know how he would have reacted if things had really turned out this way... He’d started to care so much for the older man, caring for him in a way he shouldn’t, but feelings were one of the few things one couldn’t control...

 

Peter wanted Mr Stark to trust him. To trust him in a way that would make him open up and tell him how he really felt. Even if Tony had tried to assure him that in the end everything would eventually go back to normal, Peter knew that this wasn‘t true and he definitely wouldn’t give up so easily. As stubborn as Mr Stark sometimes was, Peter still didn’t give up the little spark of hope that he would finally change his mind. Although he was really good at hiding the things he wanted to hide…

 

Eventually turning around on his mattress, Peter’s eyelids fluttered closed and another image of Tony showed up in front of his mind‘s eye, before he slowly drifted off to sleep.

 

 

 

 

"Try to go away, Peter!" he hears Tony’s erratic voice ringing in his ears. "No, Mr Stark. I won’t leave you alone," he replies immediately and instead of doing what the other man demanded from him, he swiftly turns around and adjusts his web-shooters to shoot the artificial spider webs against the bedraggled wall of the building.

 

He hears metal shattering a few feet under him, the obvious sounds of a fight and just when he wants to turn around to see what’s happening, a cold metallic hand grips his shoulder and yanks him down the wall. Rushing inevitably towards the ground, Peter sees a head with messy brown hair and a face that’s contorted into a grimace, looking after him. In what feels like the last second, Peter manages to break his fall and quietly lands on the ground on the other end of the open room in which the two other men are still involved in their fight.

 

He sees Steve leaning over Tony, his fingers closed around the edges of his shield, lifting it high above his head and all he can think of in this moment is that he has to prevent the inevitable outcome of this. _I can’t bear seeing you like this…_

 

Trying to push himself off the ground, it is as if his feet are suddenly as heavy as rocks. He turns his wrist, opening his hand to shoot his webs on the wall on the opposite side of the room, next to Rogers and Mr Stark, but all he manages to achieve are a few thin white strings that come out of his shooters and in the end he has no other choice but to run as fast as he can. But why does it feel like the two men are further away with every step he takes?

 

Still several metres away – _too_ far away – Peter can do nothing but watch Steve mercilessly ramming his shield into Tony’s chest, breaking his suit and his bones with brutal force. When he finally falls down on his knees next to them, Peter realises how severe the damage done by Rogers really is. A thin trail of blood constantly makes his way out of one of the numerous wounds covering Tony‘s chest and one long, sharp piece of his suit seems to disappear right into his body.

 

"Look what you‘ve done! Can you see it!" Peter screams into Steve’s direction, his voice trembling with indescribable anger and despair. "Go away!" he yells and within the blink of an eye, Steve turns around without a word and leaves, his footsteps echoing from the walls until they eventually fade away.

 

"Oh God, Mr Stark, what can I do? Please, say something," Peter pleads and feels tears prickling in the corners of his eyes. He should be strong enough to handle such a situation but it felt as if was his fault. It was him who‘s been too slow...

"Mr Stark... I... Please… I’m so sorry... I..."

 

"Peter," Tony abruptly manages to whisper and ends the younger’s desperate excuse. "None of this is your fault. It was me who dragged you into this, not knowing how everything would eventually turn out..."

 

"But I wanted it. I wanted to come with you and I... I can‘t endure this. Let me help you, please. Let me be there for you... I’ve always admired you but when I finally met you and we started to spend time together, I realised that it’s more than admiration and that I…"

 

"Peter, sh," Mr Stark breathes and lifts his hand that isn’t covered by the metallic parts of the suit anymore and places it on the younger‘s arm. “I know, Peter, I know…” he continues, even forming these few words being a visible effort for him. “I’ve realised the things you’ve just told me and I really enjoyed the time we’ve spent together... You’re a smart young man…”

 

"But we can spend more time together, now that everything‘s over, Mr Stark," Peter whisperes and places his own hand on the back of the older man's.

 

"I would like that," Tony murmurs in response. "And I would like us to..." But before he can finish his sentence, he suddenly breaks off and the hand he’s placed on Peter’s arm slowly starts to slide down.

 

“Mr Stark, you like us to do what? To be what? Mr Stark, please!” Peter begs. "Please!"

 

 

Drenched in sweat Peter awoke with a scream he could barely suppress. He‘d never dreamt something like this before. Of course Mr Stark had been a part of his dreams – especially in the last few weeks - but never had he dreamt that he‘d participated in this fight with Rogers and Barnes. Never had he felt so helpless… And then the direction in which everything had turned... Their conversation… Was it just his subconscious wanting him to hear Mr Stark saying something like this? Or maybe after all not everything in his conversation with dream-Tony was so erroneous… But now that he was awake again, Peter knew even clearer than before that he wouldn’t give up and that he wanted to be there for Mr Stark. And who knew what he would find out and what to what it could lead. _Maybe…_


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally: Their conversation...

"Friday?"

 

"Yes, Mr Stark?"

 

"What is this?" Tony asked and pointed on the brown paper bag that innocently stood in the middle of his workbench - where it clearly hadn‘t stood when Tony had left his lab one hour ago to attend another dreadful press conference. "Mr Stark" was written in black block letters over one side and Tony already had a strong suspicion, who might be the mysterious deliverer. At least the number of persons who had access to his lab was rather limited – And the number of persons who were interested in voluntarily bringing him something he hadn’t asked for even more...

 

"I don‘t know the exact contents, Sir, but it was brought here during your absence based on the press conference," his electronic assistant replied in her usual friendly tone and ended Tony’s train of thought.

 

"Well, I detected that much on my own. What is it always with you electronic-assistants," he murmured while walking over to the table where he eventually reached for the ominous present. When he pulled open the bag, he was instantly hit by the delicious smell of a fresh-made sandwich. His mouth already watering, he reached for the still paper-covered bread. Thinking about it, he came to the conclusion that he couldn’t even remember the last time that he‘d eaten something properly that hadn‘t been wrapped in plastic foil in the last three days. But he‘d started to develop a certain kind of rhythm with which he used to spend his days... _Sleeping. Dreaming. Screaming. Waking up. Lying awake. Getting up. Enduring whatever he had to endure. Working. Enhancing his projects. Eventually going to bed when he didn‘t want to but knew that he had to..._

While chewing on his first bite of the not only delicious smelling, but also delicious tasting sandwich, Tony took another look inside the bag and saw a folded piece of paper lying on its bottom that he’d almost overlooked.

 

_"Mr Stark, please."_ Were the only words that were written on it but they already were more than sufficient to make Tony realise that in a few hours he would probably have the conversation that now hardly seemed evitable anymore...

 

 

* * *

 

  

"Hello Peter, how are you?" Tony greeted the younger man as soon as he entered his lab. Looking up from the workbench, he could clearly see the confusion about his purposefully easy-going tone of voice on the younger’s face.

 

"Hello Mr Stark… I… I’m fine, thanks. And… how are you?" Peter hesitantly replied while closing the door behind him.

 

"I guess I’m okay. Had a torturous conference in the morning, but someone was so thoughtful to send me something to eat. Thank you, Peter, I really appreciate your gesture. Again. And well, speaking of it… I think it’s unavoidable that we finally have a talk about everything," the older man thoughtfully pointed out and clapped on the backrest of the chair standing next to his.

 

"Thank you. That‘s... But Mr Stark, before we begin this, can we please agree that this time we both are honest and open? About _everything_ I mean..." Peter requested, a worried frown crossing his face before he walked over to the workbench to sit down next to Tony.

 

"As otherwise all of this would be futile, yes, this was my intention, Kid," Tony replied and did he imagine it or did Peter actually _wince_ a little bit when he was addressed like this? "Peter," he therefore belatedly corrected himself, trying not to use the word "Kid" anymore. He didn’t even remember why he used to call him this in the first place, as Peter clearly wasn‘t a _Kid_. As Peter clearly hadn’t acted like a _Kid_ in the past few weeks and now seemingly wanted to do things that didn’t fit for this description, either...

 

"All right," the older man eventually started after he‘d cleared his throat. "As I‘ve already said, I really appreciate that you dropped by to bring me this sandwich and to ask me how I’m feeling after... _[Rogers rammed his shield into my chest... I laid there in this abandoned research facility, mentally already preparing for the inevitable... I haven’t got a proper night’s sleep in who knows long because of this…]_ everything... but Peter, I just don‘t know what I‘m supposed to make of that..."

 

"Of what? Of me offering you my help? Of me showing you that you are not alone and have to deal with everything on your own as you’ve usually done it?” Peter answered and his voice vacillated between incomprehension and exasperation. “Mr Stark, why don’t you just accept that? Why? It is because of the fact that it’s _me_ wanting to be there for you, isn’t it? You think a _Kid_ at around my age isn’t the person you want. You think a _Kid_ like me doesn’t even know what they want for themselves in the first place, right?” he eventually added before he fell silent.

 

“No Peter, don’t describe yourself in that way. I know I’ve done so many times but… that’s not… You may be young but you clearly know what you want... _[and that‘s just another reason why I‘m afraid of the fact to which this could lead...]_ Please, it’s not as if I wouldn’t _want_ your help it’s just that… _[if I allowed it, I know that I couldn’t withhold myself… my feelings?...]_ because of me you became a part of this whole misery in the first place and I don’t want to drag you even further into it, as I‘ve already told you. You know that in my position I have to maintain a certain image in public, which has become more and more difficult during the previous weeks but I can‘t allow myself to slip. Some days I feel everything at once, ruthlessly trying to let me drown under my usually suppressed thoughts and then on other days I just feel completely numb and tired. But as I said, I can’t allow myself to show that and I know that this would be even harder if I opened up and let someone close to me..." Tony explained and rubbed his eyes. _[Did this sound convincing? Did this even sound convincing to_ me _?]_

 

"Do you mean someone or just _me_? If you really insist on this, we’re in the exact same situation as before. I know that you want to open up; I can _see_ it when I look at your face and even your last two sentences showed me that you want it too… I’ve never experienced a pain that’s comparable to the pain you had to and still have to endure and with that I mean not only the physical pain Rogers caused to you… I’m sorry you feel like this, you can’t imagine how much. You deserve so much more, Mr Stark, and you know that you have the chance to get it. You’ve just told me that you think that I know what I want and when I look at you, I still have a spark of hope left that maybe what I sometimes can see light up your eyes is proof of what I think and what I feel. Of what I want too," Peter responded and shifted on his chair as if he was about to do something that took him a lot of will power. "And that’s the reason why I am going to do _this_ ," he finally whispered and visibly summoning up all his courage, he leaned forward to softly press his lips onto Tony’s to connect them into a kiss that would show him all the things he hadn't been able to say.

 

Feeling the other’s lips against his own, soft and warm, he breathed in Tony’s scent that was suddenly all around him, tasted the remains of coffee in his mouth and he could have got completely lost in all the sensations he could experience after he‘d fantasised about them for so long - but only almost. How could he have given into his feelings when Tony's arms hung stiff at his sides instead of being slung around his waist, when every muscle in his body seemed to be tensed?

 

Eventually realising what exactly he‘d initiated, Peter immediately loosened his lips from Tony‘s, trying to bring as much space as possible between them. He looked into the other’s face, seeing the disbelieving expression that covered his features, his lips slightly parted in shock, his pupils widened before he hastily turned around to snatch his backpack.

 

"Peter, please…" Tony began but was shut after these two words.

 

"No Mr Stark, I’m sorry… I thought that… I don’t even know what I thought," Peter weakly laughed and ran a hand through his hair. "But I thought I should better show you what I… Never mind…" he sighed and shooting the older man one last look that piercingly went right into Tony’s heart, he reached for the door handle and stepped out of the room.

 

"Peter," Tony whispered again, staring at the closed door through which Peter had just disappeared. He brought his fingers to his lips, imagining how Peter’s had felt against his during the split seconds they had been touching. "This is my end… _[or the new beginning I want and that I should finally allow…]"_

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Slowly but surely...

 

Their chests are touching, not one centimetre left between them. They are so close; Tony can almost feel Peter’s heartbeat resonating through him, vibrating through every little part of him and when Peter rests his head on his shoulder and buries his nose in the crook of his neck, a warm shiver runs through him, leaving him feel happy and secure.

 

His fingertips softly ghost over Peter‘s back, eliciting the same reaction from him that his own body has just showed. He eventually rests his hand on the younger’s cheek and leaning back a little bit, he looks deep into Peter’s eyes. Brown meeting brown, seeing his pupils reflect the light in the most beautiful way and when a small smile forms on the younger’s face, they both tilt their heads and softly press their lips against each other’s.

 

"I want to be there for you. You know why," Peter whispers after they’ve parted again and visibly waits to hear the confirmation out of the other‘s mouth as well.

 

But Tony can‘t reply. The only things escaping his parted lips are almost soundless breaths and suddenly the smile that covered Peter‘s face only seconds ago disappears and is instead replaced by a mask that looks sad and desperate. Almost as during their conversation a few hours ago...

 

 

 

Suddenly waking up, it took Tony a few seconds to realise that this time his sleep hadn’t been ended by another nightmare but by a different dream... His fingers almost automatically brushed over his lips like they‘d done it a few hours ago when Peter had stormed out of his lab after he‘d kissed him. _Kissed_. _Him_.

With this gesture that must have took him all his courage and will power, he‘d shown so much to Tony. He‘d given him an insight in his feelings, had showed him why he hadn’t wanted to let Tony alone. But with this gesture he‘d also managed to completely throw Tony off balance. He knew that his explanations hadn’t sound convincing - in the meantime he‘d eventually realised that they hadn’t even sound convincing to himself - and now he was clear in his mind that he just had to allow what he really wanted. Every doubt _[Can I really let someone close or will it only make everything even harder?]_ and hypocritical reason _[He’s too young… Does he really know to what he gets himself into?]_ shoved aside, Tony knew that it was exactly what Peter wanted too and it was finally time to tell him. It would do them no good if it remained the way it was…

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

"Fantastic... Fucking fantastic... Really Peter, that was probably the best fucking idea ever... But what if I hadn‘t taken matters into my own hands? Everything would still be the same... Am I really discussing this _aloud_ with _myself_?" Peter muttered under his breath, almost hysterically laughing out loud when he considered his thoughts and continued his restless pacing over the lonesome roof of the building. The silence only broken with his muffled curses and the occasional blaring sound of a car down on the streets.

 

Normally Peter would be in bed at this time, he’d even _been_ in bed but there was no chance of falling asleep. So after two hours that he‘d spent with rolling around on his mattress, folding back his blanket and tucking himself up again, he was now dressed in his Spider-Man suit as he‘d finally decided that he just had to get out of his room to do something. Otherwise his thoughts would have eventually overwhelmed him. But this night he couldn’t describe himself as the friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man that prevented the occasional theft or burglary - Instead he had to try his best to calm down his senses that made his whole body feel tensed and on edge since he‘d left Mr Stark this afternoon.

 

He still didn’t know whether he should regret what he‘d done or whether it had been the only option to finally show the older man how he really felt and thought about him. It this moment in Tony‘s lab it‘d clearly been the latter but after a few seconds he‘d already started to reconsider his decision as his eventual flight had doubtlessly showed. Before he‘d thrown the door shut behind him, he‘d even said that he felt sorry for what he‘d done but did he really think so? Maybe he should have let Mr Stark finish what he‘d wanted to say but now it was too late for that nevertheless. He didn’t know when he would see Tony again as of course they hadn’t arranged a day and time for their next meeting. But Peter was quite sure that after today it would only be a matter of time for Tony to text or call him. What would he say then?

 

Walking towards the edge of the roof, Peter looked down on the uncountable little lights that constantly made their way through the streets, that shone out of the windows of the other houses opposite him and he once more thought about Tony and why he didn’t open up to him. Why he didn’t _want_ to open up to him. But his kiss couldn’t have left him unaffected as well. Especially not if Peter had been at least a little bit right...

 

When he took a look at his watch, Peter realised that he should probably return to his bed to get at least a few hours of sleep before he had to go to school. He took his mask back on that he‘d removed during his aimless wandering on the roof and taking a short run-up, he jumped from the building and shot his webs in the darkness where they eventually connected with a wall and brought him closer and closer to his aunt‘s flat.

He just swung over a rather small, almost deserted street when two people that still seemed to be awake and spending their night outside as well caught Peter‘s attention. Adjusting his electrical vision, he saw the two - brown-haired men as he now recognized - walking towards the entrance of a building where one of them reached into his pocket, obviously looking for his keys. When he pulled them out and unlocked the door, the younger of the two men said something that made them both smile and he pressed a quick kiss on the other‘s cheek before they eventually disappeared into the hallway of the building.

 

Distracted as he was in this moment - by his thoughts about Mr Stark, about their kiss – if it could even be described as one - by the couple he‘d just witnessed and that involuntarily reminded him so much of Tony - and if he was honest with himself - of what he wished them to be - Peter realised a few split seconds too late that there were some fire exit stairs right in his flight path and he couldn’t avoid bumping into them with his right knee.

 

"Exactly what I needed," Peter groaned in resignation and after crossing two more streets he hopped down on the pavement on the backside of the building in which he and May lived. "Hopefully tomorrow will be better… In many ways..." he quietly sighed and climbed the façade to the unlocked window of his room to get inside as soundless as possible, not wanting to let May know about his nightly excursion. Just when he pulled off his suit to tuck it away into its hiding place, the display of his smartphone lit up and announced the arrival of a new message from a sender that Peter could already guess…

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still quite unsure how many chapters this story will have. I've planned around six as I'm not the type for 30.000 words but I don't know yet whether I want to add some other parts before I come to the eventual epilogue and the smut... We will see ^.^


	5. Chapter 5

 

_Peter, I would want to meet you..._ [No, that sounds as if it‘s only about me. And that's definitely not true...]

_Peter, I think it‘s better..._ [That’s even worse… It sounds as if I would want to end what we’ve barely started...]

 

_Peter, I would really like to see you and I hope that you want to do so as well. Could you come to me after you‘ve finished school for the day? [Sent 4:17 am]_

 

With a sigh Tony placed his smartphone back on the nightstand and rubbed his eyes. Hopefully Peter would take a look at his phone in the morning before he would leave for school. Hopefully Peter would answer him then... would _want_ to answer him then... He probably still thought that what he’d done was the worst decision he’d ever made but it’d been the opposite... It had been exactly what Tony had needed to finally realise what could develop between them if he just finally allowed it. That this was about more than just Peter wanting to be there for him. That there was more that seemed to connect them...

 

Still deep in thought, Tony slowly sunk back into the pillows, albeit feeling far too nervous and unsettled to even think about falling asleep again. He took a deep breath to calm down and almost jumped out of his skin when the sleepy silence in his bedroom was suddenly interrupted by the buzzing sound of his smartphone. Hastily reaching for it, Tony unlocked it with trembling fingers so that he could read the short message. Obviously Peter wasn’t asleep either, his thoughts most likely keeping him awake as well…

 

 

_Yes, I would like to, Mr Stark. [Received 4:20 am]_

 

 

His fingers hovering over the keyboard, Tony decided to type another short reply before he would take things as they came.

 

_Thank you. Until later, then. [Sent 4:22 am]_

 

 

* * *

 

 

"Friday? Why didn’t the elevator stop? The lab‘s at the tenth floor?" Peter asked in confusion and looked at the red numbers that showed the floors the elevator passed and that steadily became higher.

 

"That‘s right, Peter but Mr Stark wants to meet you in his private rooms and therefore instructed me to bring you there."

 

"Oh, all... all right," Peter murmured and nervously fiddled with a loose string on his backpack. Tilting his head back, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes, only focusing on the buzzing sound of the elevator cabin around him. Mr Stark’s message had sounded as if this day had the potential to turn out the way Peter had wished for - Still wished for... But until now he didn’t allow himself to completely believe in it...

 

Barely audible the cabin came to a sudden halt and the doors slid open to reveal what undoubtedly was the penthouse of the skyscraper. Peter had never been here before. Almost every time that he‘d been in the building, he‘d met with Tony in his lab where they‘d worked on his suit or occasionally on other things the older genius had developed. Only once had he met with Tony and a few of the other Avengers in their common rooms. But when Peter finally stepped out of the elevator and into a more than generous and bright living room, he knew that this place suited the older man.

 

"Hello Peter," Tony said almost cautiously when he came out of an adjoining room and caught sight of the younger man. Seeing a hesitant smile form on his face, Peter knew that Tony must have chosen to have their conversation in his rooms, as here everything seemed far more comfortable and _personal_...

 

"Hello Mr Stark," Peter replied, not knowing what else he could probably say in this moment. After yesterday...

 

"You know that you can call me Tony, don‘t you? I would really like you to do so. It‘s... less distant..."

 

"Distant… Do you want it to be like this, Tony?" Peter asked, for the first time addressing the older man by his first name. It felt... _Unusual_ … Unusual but _good_...

 

"Peter… Please, take a seat, then we can... Please..." Tony said, his voice suddenly sounding hesitant again and gestured for the also more than generous sofa that dominated the room. When they‘d both sat down, subconsciously keeping a safe distance between them, Tony eventually cleared his throat and began to speak again.

 

"After yesterday... Well, I can‘t deny that you caught me completely off guard by _kissing me_ and I definitely didn’t imagine that our conversation would end like this… But Peter... I thought about so many things last night and I’m now clear in my mind about what I want. I know that if everything remains like this, it only does both of us no good. I’m not feeling well as everybody can see but all these people just don’t _care_. They either pretend they don’t realise it at all or they feel obliged to ask if I’m alright and I have no other option than saying 'Yes, I’m alright'. But Peter, I know that you really offered me your help and what did I do? I cut you off when you tried to reach out to me and forced us to end the topic. As if I could have ended it like this… And then yesterday you summoned up all your courage and I wasn’t even able to keep you from running away..."

 

"No, Mr S... Tony, please, what I did yesterday was completely my decision. _Everything_ I mean. But I just needed time to think..." Peter already trailed off again.

 

"And so did I. Last night I was woken by another dream. Not a nightmare this time - Although somehow it was. Incomparable to the usual ones, but still. I dreamt that we kissed again and when you looked at me, you told me that you want to be there for me and that I know why. But I couldn’t say anything in response. Not one word escaped my mouth and in the end you looked at me in a way that reminded me so much of your expression when you left me yesterday. In retrospect I think that this dream only once more showed me that I refused to accept what you offered to me because of reasons with which I can’t even convince myself anymore. Because I ignored what was right in front of me and what I felt and still feel as well... What I most certainly do know..." Tony eventually ended and Peter could clearly see how much thought he must have given to what he’d just said. And in this moment, Peter finally felt something spreading inside him, for what he’d wished for such a long time.

 

"You mean a lot to me, Peter," Tony murmured and slowly slid closer to Peter, carefully watching out whether the younger man would back away from him. But it was the last thing Peter wanted to do...

 

"You… You mean a lot to me too, Tony," Peter eventually confirmed and his eyes still rested on Tony’s face, taking in the sight of the man he cared for. For whom he more than cared. What he'd clearly showed...

 

"I know," the older man whispered and lightly tilted his head. He looked deep into Peter’s eyes again, searching for the wordless affirmation to what he intended to do. But in his gaze, in his warm brown eyes, he could only perceive trust and a need so strong that it finally made him forget any single doubt that he had on his mind. Lifting one of his hands, he brought it to Peter’s face, lightly trailing his fingertips over his jawline, over the contour of his lips, feeling him so close for the first time.

 

"Tony," Peter sighed and lifted his hand to place it on top of the older man’s, feeling his skin warm against his. Like he’d imagined it so many times...

 

"Peter." Was the last thing Tony murmured before he leaned forward so that he could brush his lips over Peter’s for the second time. But in this moment everything was absolutely incomparable to the first. It was as if the world stopped turning around them when their mouths finally met. When they finally felt connected in one of the closest ways possible. Careful, not yet sure how the younger man would react, Tony lightly trailed the tip of his tongue over Peter’s mouth, softly caressing it. But when he parted his lips almost without hesitation and allowed Tony’s tongue to slip into his mouth, it was as if the last bit of tension, the last bit of restraint that had been between them, was finally gone.

 

Softly closing his hand around the back of Peter’s head, Tony carefully deepened their kiss and it was a moment in which only one thing mattered: what they finally could have.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hope you liked this chapter ^.^ And well, now we're almost at the end of my little story and in the next and last chapter there will finally be some smut between the two of them.


	6. Epilogue: Two Weeks Later

 

 

_Two weeks later_

 

 

“Hi, how are you?” Peter asked as soon as he stepped out of the elevator and into Tony’s living room. In the last two weeks he had started to come by almost every day. He’d even managed to stay a few nights, of course without his aunt knowing where he was.

 

“Hello Peter,” Tony smiled in response and it was a completely genuine smile. “I’m fine, really,” he said and crossed the few metres that separated him from Peter to pull him into his arms. “I’m glad you’re here,” he murmured into the crook of his neck and he really was, more than he could have worded it. He felt better. So much better since they’d both got closer. It just was indescribably relieving to have someone to whom he could speak about his nightmares and the fewer and fewer becoming memories he hadn’t yet processed. Someone who listened to all of this and really seemed to care.

 

It was incredible that he felt so… good again. So much better than a few weeks ago. The two of them had spent much more time together. Not only working on Peter’s suit in Tony’s lab but just sitting together, talking, watching a film, and eating dinner. Yes, they were ready for a new start. A new start with Peter as a part of Tony’s life. And most of all, as a different part of his life than before.

 

Tony didn’t know whether other people realised the changes in his appearance as well but what they surely wouldn’t know was why he slowly changed back to his normal self. They wouldn’t know the whole truth about the relationship between him and Peter. Or about what was slowly developing between them…

 

“That’s good,” Peter whispered in response but Tony seemingly had already almost forgotten about what they’d talked. “I can stay for a few hours and I thought that maybe today…” _[We could take things a little further…]_

 

“Maybe today?” Tony asked and leaned back to look into Peter’s eyes. “Didn’t we both agree to be completely honest? About _everything_?”

 

“We did… It took us long enough… And maybe some other things too,” Peter murmured and like that day more than two weeks ago when he’d taken the initiative and had kissed Tony, he gathered up all his courage and softly ground his hips against the older man’s, his intention clear.

 

”Peter… are you sure about that? I… I mean, didn’t we say that we don’t want to rush into anything? After it already took us… _me…_ so long to finally allow what we now have…“ Tony managed to say and lowered his gaze when he thought about how he’d behaved. About how he’d refused to accept what he’d in truth so desperately wanted.

 

He and Peter had already shared many kisses in the last two weeks. At first they had been shy and questioning but they had become more and more heated and passionate. They’d even spent some nights together in bed. Their bodies pressed against each other, not one millimetre left between their chests, their legs and arms entangled when they had woken up the next morning – After a night without a nightmare.

 

Of course the first time that Peter had slept in Tony’s penthouse, he’d stayed in the guest room next to the other man’s and not with him in his own but he’d wanted to hear him. To be close to him as at this time the nightmares had been worse and had still appeared almost every night. Hearing Tony’s muffled screams and scraps of words had always awoken him out of his own light sleep and brought him to Tony’s bedroom where he’d just sat beside him, comforting him, holding his hand until he’d returned to his own bed – Until one night he’d stayed.

 

”I am absolutely sure,“ the younger man whispered into Tony's ear and almost teasingly licked along the shell, making him shiver.

 

“But… I don’t know… I…“ Tony stuttered before he fell silent. Sometimes he still couldn’t keep himself from doubting that Peter definitely knew what he wanted and what not - Although he really should have known better by now.

 

“Shhh,” Peter murmured and put a chaste kiss on Tony’s lips, ending his train of thought that had been visible on his face. “I know that we have all the time in the world, Tony. But I really want to do this with you. Only with _you_. And you can’t deny that you wouldn't want it as well,“ the younger man said and softly cupped Tony’s cock through his pants, touching it for the first time, feeling it fill out under his palm. Oh yes, they both wanted this so much.

 

Grabbing Tony’s wrist, he lead them through the hallway and to the older man’s bedroom where he softly pushed him down onto the mattress. Tony’s pupils were already slightly dilated, lust and curiosity almost readable in them. But also something that seemed like he still couldn't believe that this was finally about to happen.

 

Smiling affectionately at him, Peter climbed onto the bed as well and pressed his lips on Tony’s again, letting his tongue explore the other’s mouth, tasting the coffee he had drunk earlier. Bitter and sweet. How much did he want to taste _this_ , to taste _him_ forever?

 

Their mouths still connected, Peter reached for the zip of Tony’s trousers to open them up. He could feel his erection pulsing against his palm, hot and craving for release and softly, barely touching it, he brushed his fingertips over the older’s boxer shorts, seeing him subconsciously buck his hips to higher the friction of Peter’s fingers on his cock. But he wanted to feel his bare skin on his, not one layer of clothing left between them – And he clearly knew that it was what Tony craved for as well.

 

With one swift movement Peter hooked a few fingers into the waistband of Tony's pants and slid them down so that his cock could finally spring free. Swallowing hard when he was finally presented with his bare length, Peter once more thought that, No, he didn't regret what they did for one second. He wanted this so much. He wanted this only with Tony. He wanted him so much. He couldn't imagine it with anyone else. Not after everything they’d finally achieved.

 

At the sensation of Peter’s fingers closing around his cock, giving it a few soft strokes, Tony inhaled sharply. They both knew that this was Peter’s first time doing this with another man. But Tony couldn’t describe how it felt that he’d chosen _him_ for it.

 

“That’s… indescribable, Peter,” he sighed and with unsteady fingers started to fumble with the fly of the younger man’s trousers until he finally managed to open them up as well so that he could slide both his trousers and shorts down. Pushing his lips on Peter’s again, he softly closed his fingers around their erections in a loose ring that made both of them sigh into the other’s mouth. He slowly bucked his hips, making Peter wallow in the sensation of the touch of their cocks and his hand searched for the younger man’s so that he could bring it down to to their erections as well.

 

“For me too,” Peter moaned softly, the sudden unexpected feeling of their joined hands on their cocks almost eliciting another, louder sound from him and encouraged by this, by this undeniable sign, Tony steadied his grip around both of their dicks, using some of the leaking precome to slick his fist, before he started to let them slide through the ring of their fingers.

 

The slow strokes he initiated, in a rhythm he defined, made both their hips buck upward almost simultaneously, subconsciously trying to push their cocks even harder between their hands. But it felt like heaven, the sensitive skin of their cocks rubbing against each other, being so close, constantly bringing them closer and closer to the edge. Closer and closer to a feeling they both wanted to experience together.

 

Deep inside his body, Tony already felt his orgasm build up. All the sensations that flooded through his body. Their cocks touching, Peter’s and his fingers around them, his breathing that brushed over his face, his still suppressed moans that echoed in his ears. Every time their hands moved upward, Tony let his thumb move over the tip of their cocks, spreading their mixed precome along their lengths and when he squeezed his fingers around them, they both couldn't bear the feeling any longer.

 

Peter moaned Tony’s name the moment he came, gasping for air, his limbs heavy and trembling he came in thick white guts, covering his own and the older man’s skin in warm and wet stripes.

 

Not yet slowing down the pace of their strokes, Tony looked down at the mess Peter had created on their stomachs and when his cock gave another twitch at the still not ending stimulation, it was finally enough to push Tony over the edge as well. Throwing his head back, Tony’s orgasm rushed through him with a sheer unknown force, leaving his body trembling and shaking as well before he eventually let his head slump down against Peter’s shoulder.

 

”God Peter… This was wonderful,“ Tony murmured, his voice barely a whisper. “I’m so glad to have you. Because of so many reasons.”

 

 

_The End... But also a Beginning_

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think ^.^  
> [My Tumblr](https://littlebluestar18.tumblr.com)


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